This blog is an elaboration to my post on the class Moodle. The process of developing a storyboard was somewhat difficult than what I was use to in telling a story, but meaningful nonetheless, partly because I had to decide what was important to write, then providing an illustration to showcase the story being told.
As discussed from some of the readings, “a storyboard is an outline, generally illustrated, that is used in the planning of a television show, movie, commercial, or play.” In more recent years, the readings noted, “the word has also been applied to video games and webpages and a storyboard is an illustrated flow chart.” The illustration therein is somewhat similar to the art in comic books.
Furthermore, reading “Knight Digital Media Center Training on multimedia storytelling” helped me to understand and take note of the various dimensions to story creation, specifically how to decide on a story, the layers such as history, and people, the importance of “shell” (the background), how to read and look at images (defined as some combination of text, still photography, video clips, audio, graphics and interactivity presented on a web site in a nonlinear format). One of the most interesting aspects of “Knight Digital” was the example of Dancing Rocks Rough Storyboard that was broken down into the following parts (click here for full text):
• Nonlinear parts -- Home page with four inside pages. The four parts are the quest (research), a bio (of Messina), the rocks (how they move), and the site of the dancing rocks, Death Valley's Racetrack Playa (its colorful history).
• Video -- Anticipate video from the field trip: Messina mapping the rock trails, assembling her gear, the trip to and from the playa.
• Audio -- Anticipate audio from the field trip: Messina explaining how she works, what the gear does, and why she does what she does. Maybe what the Racetrack Playa sounds like.
• Still photos -- Available from Messina's Web site, and professional photographers, if necessary. Anticipate grabbing still photos from video of wide-angle shots of the playa, rocks and trails, maybe Death Valley National Park rangers.
• Graphics -- Existing aerial photo, maps and rock trails.
• Text -- History of research, history of the Racetrack Playa from interviews with Messina, other researchers, and the park rangers.
Transitioning to “Reading Comics,” Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at the University of Illinois writes, “comic books are just as sophisticated as other forms of literature, and children [and let me add adults] benefit from reading them at least as much as they do from reading other types of books.” Additionally, it was noted that many people, even librarians who willingly add comics to their collection, often dismiss its importance. However, compared to reading “real “ books, “comic appears to be a simple task compared to books, where reading comic might be preferable.” Tilley further writes, “After all, comics do have words/plentiful pictures that seem to carry meaning.” Lastly, comics have several common structural elements that are used to communicate effectively, and between the readers.
Despite the fact that librarians and teachers have long embraced picture books, and not comics, as suitable text for young readers, there is much that can be learned. Additionally, comics differ in some important ways from standard picture books; comics tend to have multiple panels per page instead of a single page. Similarly, comics integrate words and images indicating a greater extent than many traditional picture books. “Yet, teachers and library media specialist can employ the same instructional techniques with young people for both picture books and comics.”
Like some of my classmate who noted on the Moodle, from the readings, I too get the general impression that comics and digital stories are quite distinct forms of expressions, not just for youth, but all readers. And, to understand comic book’s importance as vital forms of learning, one needs to have a firm understanding of different ways all people learn. Having this information/ background knowledge helped me to construct my own storyboard (provided on the Moodle), albeit general, to share an aspect of my life related to applying to graduate schools.
The creation of a storyboard was a good follow up to the comic strip generator exercise our class looked at GSLIS two weeks ago while in class, including that illustration/ images are not only used to tell a story, but serve a unique purpose.
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